VIENNA - China has achieved significant progress in its effort to crack down on drug-related crimes in the past three years, Tang Guoqiang, the Chinese ambassador to the UN office in Vienna, said at the 51st session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) here Tuesday.
The Chinese ambassador told the UN anti-drug body that the Chinese government has consistently adhered to comprehensive drug prohibition policies and has mobilized all government departments and the whole of society in its anti-drug effort.
Since 2005, China has cracked a total of 144,000 cases of drug-related crimes, captured 174,000 suspected criminals, and seized 17.5 tons of heroin, 19.7 tons of "crystal" methamphetamine (commonly known as "ice") and related tablets, 5.2 tons of opium, 5,000,000 capsules of ecstasy, 10.5 tons of ketamine and 4,456 tons of precursor chemicals, Tang said.
In January 2007, China, the United States and Canada busted a huge transnational drug ring in a joint operation, arrested five suspected traffickers in Canada, six in China and seized 25 kilos of cocaine in the United States.
In June, police from China and the Philippines cracked another huge transnational case of drug manufacturing and trafficking in a joint operation, in which eight suspects were captured, seizing 180 kilos of ice and nearly 10 tons of precursor chemicals, Tang said.
